Antique Bentwood Coat Rack

Bentwood is one of the most iconic statements of innovative design from the 1800's. Michael Thonet (pronounced "toe-net") opened his first workshop in 1819 in Germany and for many years experimented with techniques to bend pieces of wood. Eventually Thonet developed a process to successfully steam and bend wood in 1859 and created the legendary Thonet No.14 bentwood chair. After the international success of the Thonet chairs, other accessories were added, including this simple and elegant coat rack from the early 1900's.